The Pittsburgh Steelers' loss in the AFC Divisional Round was just the bitter end to a tumultuous 2017 NFL season. Unfortunately, it may have been highlighted by the potential game-winning touchdown catch by tight end Jesse James in Week 15 versus the New England Patriots.

James' reception had ultimately been reversed due to the league's enigmatic catch rule. Fortunately, he was able to find some peace of mind in knowing that the Patriots did not end up winning Super Bowl LII, according to the Centre Daily Times’ Josh Moyer:

“It’s brought up all the time,” James said. “Anytime you talk football, it’s going to be brought up — especially the weeks that followed it. There were a bunch of controversial calls, and it kept going. It’s just the way that happened.”

“I don’t feel like I gave them a Super Bowl with that,” the tight end added of the Patriots. “So I’m over it now, but it’s going to be a topic of conversation until the rule gets changed — or it doesn’t.”

A regular season game is hardly ever a determining factor in how the postseason shakes out. However, it goes without saying that the decision left a bad taste in the Steelers' mouths from that point moving forward.

From then on, all Pittsburgh could talk about was getting their redemption against New England in the AFC Conference Game. However, the Steelers mistakenly overlooked the Jacksonville Jaguars in the process, thus blowing their shot at revenge.

If there was any good that came out of the reversed call, is that it seemed to be the icing on the cake to spur the NFL's efforts to change its catch rule. Hopefully, that is something James can also take solace in.